Issuu

GLOBAL A

MANAGEMENT

WORLD ACW Digital is sponsored by AIRPORTS.COM FREIGHTERS.COM

FREIGH

FRE

Tabloid page bled.indd 1

05/11/2020 10:35

The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,112

21 December 2020

Season’s Greetings from Air Cargo Week

As this unprecedented year for airfreight and the global supply chain closes, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal readers and advertisers who have stayed with us over the past 10 months and wish you all the very best for 2021!

VACCINES ARE FLYING!

INSIDE

TRUST IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN

THE COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of life, sweeping away assumptions that had held for decades, such as shaking ... PAGE 2 2020 TIACA SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS

N uplifting news to end this sorry year, a number of global players are beginning to ship vaccines for the COVID-19 virus. The American Airlines Cargo team carried its first shipment of COVID19 vaccine on December 13. In close collaboration with pharmaceutical and cargo partners, the airline received the shipment by truck at Chicago O’Hare and loaded the shipment onto a Boeing 777-200 aircraft flying to Miami International Airport. “The American team is proud to be a part of the critical effort to get lifesaving vaccine safely and quickly to people around the world,” said American Airlines Cargo president Jessica Tyler. “We were able to mobilise within hours of

getting the call to move thousands of doses. We know this is the first of many shipments to come and we are ready to scale our operation as additional vaccine is produced and ready for distribution.” American began conducting trial flights to simulate the conditions required to transport the COVID-19 vaccine, stress-testing the thermal packaging and operational handling process to ensure it remains stable in transit. Another player, FedEx, is to ship the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines across the US. Following the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, FedEx Express will transport the vaccine using its FedEx Priority Overnight service sup-

ported by FedEx Priority Alert advanced monitoring. “This is among the most important work in the history of our company,” said Raj Subramaniam, president and chief operating officer, FedEx Corp. At the same time, United has become the first commercial airline to fly FDA-authorised COVID-19 vaccines. United is flying the first vaccines to the US thanks to a co-ordinated effort between cargo, safety, technical operations, flight operations and other teams at United, which operated five cargo-only flights in early December delivering COVID-19 vaccines from Brussels to Chicago. The airline said in a statement: “United has been proud to put our

expertise to work over the last several months working with logistics and pharmaceutical companies around the world to bring COVID-19 vaccines to the US. “The scientists behind these vaccines and the frontline workers are the real heroes and we’ll continue to do our part in the weeks and months ahead to help get this precious cargo where it needs to go.” For the provision of its citizens the government of Israel received the first batch of the vaccine with flights operated by DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding. The first DHL Express aircraft touched down at Ben-Gurion International Airport Tel Aviv. More reports Page 7

THE International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has announced that Pelican BioThermal and Nepal Flying Labs are the winners ... PAGE 5

OUR NEXT ISSUE: JANUARY 11, 2021 SEE YOU THEN!

aircargoweek.com

NEWS

Trust in TURKISH CARGO CARRIES A the supply 1,700 YEAR OLD PASSENGER chain THE COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of life, sweeping away assumptions that had held for decades, such as shaking hands to show respect and establish trust with acquaintances, colleagues, valued customers and trusted suppliers. These days, we show respect and establish trust by waving from a safe distance, stepping aside to let others pass or wearing a mask, says Julian Dean, founder of GreatSEAL.net, based in the UK, which delivers cost-effective digital transformation projects using encrypted blockchains. He says: “We have already adapted to working from home, while we try to get IT systems to work and maintain communications with

our clients, suppliers and colleagues, because we need to understand the challenges and fears. “As if this is not enough, we also have to contend with Brexit and future relationships with the EU and the USA, the logistics of vaccinating the entire population, the exponential growth in cyber-crime and cyber-warfare that is targeting our businesses and the proliferation of fake news that undermines consumer trust in everything.” At the same time, the FBI and other intelligence agencies are warning businesses that cyber attacks are becoming increasingly aggressive and targeted and the number of ransomware attacks in particular has trebled in the last year alone.

Ransomware The business model for criminal organisations exploiting ransomware is fairly simple: they buy or steal credentials to access a few computers, servers and services; use automated tools and manual investigations to gain access to every computer, server and service across the target business, download automated tools to encrypt and optionally steal all data across the business; download automated tools to discover and destroy all data backups and hide the evidence; demand payment in exchange for decrypting the data and not publishing or selling it on the internet; where the final stage is normally performed by a team of specialist negotiators, who have researched exactly what the business can afford to pay and how best to persuade them to do so. Dean says: “You can invest in cyber security tools that attempt to mitigate these risks, but criminal organisations are expanding their arsenals with new attack models and stolen cyber-warfare capabilities, while nation states are rapidly developing more advanced cyber-warfare capabilities and security vendors attempt to keep up with the changes. “There are global initiatives to promote a new approach called Secure By Design, which is intended to make businesses more resilient to cyber-attacks by criminal organisations and foreign governments but most businesses are unaware of them and lack the skills needed to implement them.”

ACW 21 DECEMBER 2020

urkish Cargo brought the statue of the mother goddess Cybele dated from the third century AD back to its home. The statue was trafficked abroad in 1970. Performing with the utmost care the shipment of historical artifacts, Turkish Cargo brought the statue of Cybele, the mother goddess which is believed to be the symbol and guardian of abundance, back to the land it belongs after nearly 60 years. The statue of Cybele, which was shipped to Istanbul from New York on December 12 with the sponsorship of Turkish Airlines following great legal efforts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, will be exhibited in the Istanbul Archeology Museum. In the recent years, Turkish Cargo has carried historical artifacts from Topkapı and Dolmabahce Palaces to Japan, contributed to the return of the missing pieces of the Gypsy Girl mosaic to its homeland, carried more than 50 masterpieces from Paris Louvre Museum to Tehran, successfully transported the Sarcophagus of Hercules of the Roman era from

Geneva to Istanbul with its specialised teams of experts working meticulously on these sensitive and significant operations that require the utmost care. Turkish Cargo offers its services for the works of art to its customers in 127 countries

around the world with its three sensitive cargo storehouses and specialised staff members with related certificates while also constantly monitoring each and every movement of its fragile and valuable cargoes with cameras in and around its storage facilities.

Tigers launches new linehaul to avoid post-Brexit delays

igers has added to its Virtual Warehouse offering by developing a new linehaul solution to help customers minimise supply chain disruption post Brexit. The Virtual Logistics Facility means that goods can be physically located between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) for ease of last mile delivery, with the online solution providing full visibility, inventory control, and a single tariff in a single place. “From January 2021 we will operate a linehaul between the UK and EU for goods which have been consolidated at customers’ sites, for either B2B or B2C business to serve their end customer

in the EU as usual from the UK,” commented Shahar Ayash, Tigers regional managing director, Europe. “Moving from a ‘one box’ supply chain concept serving the EU and UK to a ‘two boxes’ supply chain brings benefits, such as simplistic VAT for B2C, speed to market, and last mile cost reduction in a post Brexit environment. “On the other hand, there are other complications, such as cost, and control of the split inventory. “Some businesses are just not ready yet to open a second location and for them we developed our transportation solution so they can continue to serve the EU from the UK and vice versa while adopting their supply chain

to the new terms and conditions post-Brexit.” The linehaul solution is a further addition to the Tigers Virtual Warehouse, powered by its SmartHub:Connect (SHC) freight and e-commerce portal, to bring together the entire supply chain from shipping to warehousing and last mile.

European entity Tigers is offering customers either limited fiscal representation if they have a European entity that sells their goods locally, or general fiscal representation to avoid the need to have a European entity to continue selling and meeting all local regulations.

WFS deploys Descartes’ Bluetooth tracking technology DESCARTES Systems Group has revealed that Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), one of the world’s largest air cargo handlers, is offering its airline customers enhanced real-time shipment visibility and cost-efficient unit load device (ULD) asset management solutions by deploying Descartes Core Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) readers across its global cargo operations. Already live at WFS’ airport locations in Paris, London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Madrid, New York and Houston, the Descartes readers will be introduced at other international stations in the company’s network, spanning 175 major airports in 22 countries, to track cargo, parcels and mail shipments in-line with customer demand. “In today’s challenging market conditions, it’s more important than ever to implement new technologies that support the efficiency of our worldwide operations and give our customers greater visibility of their cargo and assets to either generate new revenue

opportunities or achieve business efficiencies,” said John Batten, executive vice president cargo – EMEA at WFS. The equipment is designed to help deliver end-toend visibility across entire air cargo supply chains, the Descartes readers capture the movement of air shipments bundled into a single ULD container or pallet that has either Descartes or third-party BLE tags attached. Shipment status can be tracked in real-time, whether cargo is in the air or on the ground. The solution also improves ULD asset management by identifying the location of containers, which helps to optimise ULD inventory and reduce the costs associated with misplaced equipment or the requirement to lease additional ULDs. “We’re pleased to help WFS enhance the value of its cargo services offering and the global reach of BLE-enabled tracking locations,” said Scott Sangster, vice president, global logistics network at Descartes.

aircargoweek.com

Tigers’ facilities in Thurrock, UK, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, have been designed for omnichannel fulfilment, offering sustainable e-commerce products and low-cost last mile B2B and B2C solutions across Europe. “We will prepare an Export Declaration and Transit Document for the goods to be exported to the EU, which we will then transport to Rotterdam where we facilitate the import clearance process to customs-clear the goods into the EU,” added Sharon Page, Director Freight Forwarding at Tigers. “Once import clearance is released, we will perform a cross-docking function to ensure safe final mile delivery throughout Europe.”

GEODIS WELCOMES RCEP

AS a major player in Asia Pacific region, GEODIS has emphasised its support for the The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP represents a step in the development of what will become the largest international trading bloc. It is envisaged that 90% of import tariffs between the partners will be eliminated. “So many countries across the Asia Pacific region agreeing to the RCEP has significance of historic proportions. The inter-state co-operation that it represents will also aid the post-Covid recovery,” commented Onno Boots, GEODIS APAC regional president and CEO.

NEWS

Max Knagge appointed CEO of SAS Cargo ... MAX Knagge, SAS’ head of sales for the US market, has been appointed as CEO of SAS Cargo following Leif Rasmussen, who is leaving his position as CEO of SAS Cargo Group after 38 years of service in the company. The transition starts immediately, with Max Knagge formally assuming the role on January 1, 2021. “I am confident Max will build on SAS Cargo’s history and continue developing its role as an important provider of critical transport infrastructure, globally as well as within Scandinavia. “His strong track record and international experience makes him an ideal candidate to successfully take over the reins at SAS Cargo,” says Kjetil Håbjørg, EVP and SAS chief services officer. SAS Cargo has developed into a key player within Scan-

dinavian infrastructure during the last decade and has taken a strategic and leading industry role within digital transformation. As well as playing a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic where it has secured transport of medical equipment, goods and cargo across borders and supporting society through its biggest crisis in modern times. “I am impressed by and immensely grateful for the work Leif Rasmussen has done for SAS Cargo,” Kjetil Håbjørg, EVP and chief services officer, SAS.

WFS invest in cyber security WORLDWIDE Flight Services (WFS) has partnered with Transputec, a leading managed IT services provider, to boost cyber security monitoring across its global network in support of its commitment to delivering best-in-class safety and security. Transputec will provide roundthe-clock protection of WFS’ aviation cargo and ground handling operations, which comprises 21,800 employees at 171 stations in 22 countries across five continents. Transputec will supply WFS with all the relevant technology and services delivered in collaboration with ThreatSpike Labs, the cyber security intelligence company. The professional team of cyber security experts assigned to WFS

will provide 24/7 monitoring for potential security risks or incidents, helping to resolve them before they become an issue. “Safety and security will always be WFS’ top priority to underpin the vital services we provide for our airline customers at airports around the world. “We take this responsibility very seriously and are constantly reviewing our systems and processes to ensure they are fit-for-purpose against potential threats and to protect our business continuity,” commented Pedro Garcia, group chief information officer for WFS. “Transputec is providing critical managed services that enable us to improve the resilience, efficiency and security of our global

operations, which gives us the peace of mind that any security anomaly or incident will be managed and resolved instantly.”

Market leader Sonny Sehgal, CEO, Transputec, added: “We are excited to be working with such a respected market leader as WFS and pleased to be helping to further improve the company’s security programme to increase the value of its services. “Our team have already been welcomed as an extension of their IT function and a core part of their security team and will offer specialist help and digital expertise to support the integrity and growth of WFS’ operations around the world.”

... as Unisys and SAS Cargo extend partnership

SAS Cargo Group and Unisys Corporation have extended their partnership with the carrier now offering its airfreight services through Unisys’ Cargo Portal platform. Signed in Q3, SAS Cargo’s services are now available to book via Unisys’ Cargo Portal, which is fully integrated with Unisys Cargo Core application, to ensure seamless freight management across all channels. Cargo Portal complements SAS Cargo’s existing systems to support increased online demand for its services, reach customers in new markets and generate higher volumes of self-service bookings. “Our partnership with Unisys supports our dedication to digital-first services. Our objective is to drive the digital transformation of air cargo by making it easier to do business and deliver a first-class customer experience,” commented Leif Rasmussen, out-going president and chief executive officer, SAS Cargo. “Unisys helps us with this objective and the portal will increase SAS Cargo’s visibility to customers with booking needs.”

ACW 21 DECEMBER 2020

NEWS

CYBER SUCCESS FOR WCA’s RECORD-BREAKING VIRTUAL SOCIAL NETWORKING EVENT

A total of 1,408 delegates from 156 countries around the world attended WCA World’s first Worldwide Virtual Conference from 7-11 December – confirming it as the largest ever online networking event in the freight forwarding industry, says the association. To meet the challenges its member companies faced in developing business and creating vital partnerships during the COVID19 pandemic, WCA designed and built its own proprietary virtual conference environment. The platform comprised an exhibition hall with interactive booths, a networking lounge, icebreaker networking events and a one-onone meeting scheduler to allow delegates to conduct up to 40 individual pre-arranged meetings per day. Well over 20,000 individual pre-scheduled one-on-one video meetings between member companies were successfully conducted

ACW 21 DECEMBER 2020

during the week. In addition over 1,000 video meetings were held in the exhibition booths and some 3,100 business-to-business interactions occurred in the networking lounge. Chief executive officer Dan March said: “Putting on this event was a major challenge. At the busiest times the virtual conference platform had some 300 individual video meetings happening concurrently, alongside numerous real-time conversations in the networking lounge. “The social networking events also gave delegates the opportunity to meet potential new partners and explore new trade lanes in a fun, interactive format. Due to the time differences the conference ran 24-hours per day, and I am delighted that the feedback from delegates has been overwhelmingly positive. “During these times where global travel is close to impossible it was fantastic to see

the energy, innovation and adaptability of WCA World members and I am proud that they continue to play such a vital role in ensuring that global trade and vital supplies continue to be efficiently delivered around the world.” WCA chairman, David Yokeum, added: “We identified early in 2020 that the global conferences, which play such a vital role in developing business for our members, would not happen this year and we would have to create something brand new. We found that third party software options, such as Zoom, could not offer the functionality and full experience we wanted to provide, so we designed and built our own system. I am delighted that this hard work paid off and we managed to provide an environment where a huge amount of business was generated.” WCA plans to hold its next virtual conference in March 2021, which will be open to all independent logistics companies, alongside vendors such as airlines, IT companies, charter brokers and ports/airports. Jointly co-hosted and organised with the China International Freight Forwarders’ Association, the Sino-International Virtual Conference has an emphasis on trade between China and the rest of the world and is expected to attract over 800 delegates.

aircargoweek.com

CEVA Logistics continues African expansion CEVA Logistics continues to expand its presence in the African market with the strengthening of its presence in two countries through joint ventures. In Egypt, the company has taken a majority stake in IBA Freight Services, its exclusive partner for the past 20 years. In Ethiopia, CEVA Logistics has taken a minority stake in MACCFA, a long-standing freight forwarder headquartered in Addis Ababa. Both joint ventures are effective immediately and further cement CEVA Logistics’ aim of becoming a leading continent-wide player. Through the new joint ventures both entities will be able to expand their products base which will help enhance the use of their local logistics services across the CEVA Logistics network.

Continent-wide expansion These new enterprises follow CEVA Logistics’ acquisition of a majority stake in AMI Worldwide in the summer of 2020 which added an additional 12 countries to the company’s African network. Says CEVA Logistics’ managing director Turkey, India, Middle East and Africa, Bruno Plantaz: “Our strategic, continent-wide expansion plan continues to gather pace. “These two Joint ventures further consolidate our position in north Africa and the horn of Africa and will enable us to persevere in our intention of supporting its socio-economic emergence across all countries.”

NEWS

Pelican BioThermal and Nepal Flying Labs win 2020 TIACA Air Cargo Sustainability Awards

THE International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has announced that Pelican BioThermal and Nepal Flying Labs are the winners of the TIACA Air Cargo Sustainability Awards 2020 sponsored by CHAMP Cargosystems. The awards aim to celebrate and encourage outstanding industry initiatives driving sustainability in air cargo.

The Corporate prize Pelican BioThermal was recognised in the Corporate category for their durable and reusable te m p e rat u re - co nt ro l l e d shipping containers Crēdo. Pelican BioThermal won a one-year free membership in the TIACA Sustainability Strategic Partnership Program, worth $10,000.

The Start-up prize Nepal Flying Labs won in the Start-up category for their Drone Optimized Therapy System (DrOTS) which flies humanitarian and medical cargo drones to remote and hard to reach locations in Nepal. As an up-and-coming start-up, Nepal Flying Labs will receive a $10,000

prize. The two runners-up BeOn IoT and Drone Delivery Canada will be recognised with $2,500 each. “All participants presented innovative and diverse solutions advancing sustainability in the air cargo industry, including carbon and waste reduction, drones, humanitarian aid, packaging, ULDs, process efficiencies, people focus and COVID-19 relief. In a year marked by a global pandemic which disrupted our industry, problem solving and forward-thinking companies like Pelican BioThermal and Nepal Flying Labs bring hope that air cargo can come out of this crisis stronger and more resilient,” stated Céline Hourcade, transition director and head of sustainability programme, TIACA. “Congratulations to all the winners and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for these companies.” The winners were selected by a group of independent judges representing TIACA’s Sustainability Strategic Partnership members, including TRANSOM, CHAMP Cargosystems, Turkish Cargo, Brussels Airport and Flexport, as well as TIACA’s members.

TIACA’S Digital Air Cargo Forum: How prepared is the airfreight industry? TIACA’S Digital Air Cargo Forum on December 8 was packed with informative webinars and plenty of opportunities to interact with industry professionals. ACW joined the Cargo4Vaccines - Prepping the air cargo industry for delivery of vaccines webinar to get more insight into the hot (or cold!) topic that is consuming the logistics industry: the COVID vaccine. The webinar featured industry professionals including Emir Pineda, manager aviation trade and logistics at Miami Airport, Bert Elsen, managing partner at 4Advice bvba, Jasiey Yip, Changi Airport and Neel Jones Shah, EVP and global head of airfreight Flexport. The webinar kicked off with Pineda outlining the Project Sunrays: Getting ready for COVID19 vaccine logistics by air paper which aims to shine a light on vaccine requirements for transport and the readiness of air cargo industry. Elson stressed that there are still a lot of unknowns in regard to the vaccine with some

information being confidential and therefore meaning industry readiness is only relative to information already known. There will be many challenges along the way with unknowns such as Brexit, border queues, equipment shortages etcetera playing a part. He reminded the industry that transparency along the supply chain and communication is key to ensuring efficiency. He stressed that efficiency will be imperative as the second dose of the vaccine must be administered 20 days after the first to be effective. Jasisy Yip, explained the findings of the survey measuring the readiness of the air cargo industry. Out of 196 respondents, which included airlines, airports and ground handlers, 46% reported they feel well prepared for vaccine transportation, contrasting with 22% feeling very unprepared. However, positively, 79% feel more prepared now than last quarter and 91% feel more informed.

“It is a real honour for us to support the Sustainability Program and we are proud of our strategic partnership with TIACA and our exclusive sponsorship of these important Awards. The Coronavirus pandemic is perhaps the biggest challenge our industry has faced but it is also an opportunity for a new beginning. Digitalisation, innovation and new technology are all elements that should be incorporated in our business plans and thinking to build a more sustainable future”, states Chris McDermott, CEO of CHAMP Cargosystems. All the Awards finalists presented their products and solutions live at TIACA’s digital edition of the Air Cargo Forum (ACF) on December 2, followed by an online voting for Start-up category by the TIACA members. The winners were announced online on December 10 at the closing of the ACF. An in-person ceremony is planned at the next physical TIACA event in 2021 following the loosening of the COVID-19-related restrictions should the pandemic be ended.

ACW 21 DECEMBER 2020

E-COMMERCE

HOW HAS 2020 CHANGED E-COMMERCE? T

his challenging as the past year has been, it has certainly proved the adaptability of many industries, including the logistics and e-Commerce sectors. The year has seen not only an increase in people turning to e-Commerce as shops close but also a change in e-Commerce habits and supply chains.

Virtual Stock, which provides supply chain solutions for UK retailers such as Argos Sainsbury’s and Dixons Carphone, has reported an increase of orders on its dropship platform not only on Black Friday weekend but also throughout the whole of November. With e-Commerce on the rise throughout the

year, this may signal a decline in the relative importance of Black Friday. Dropship fulfilment skips the middleman as the supplier ships the product direct to the customer. It enables retailers to fulfil spikes in demand by accessing suppliers who fulfilorders directly with customers and can also be used to rapidly ramp up and extend product categories online andplug any gaps in inventory. This year saw 40% and 37% year-on-year growth in order volumes in the two weekends up to Black Friday weekend, but only a 33% annual growth in orders on Black Friday weekend itself. The two weekends before Black Friday 2020 had 24% and 15% more orders than Black Friday Weekend 2019 respectively, evidence that e-Commerce has grown vastly due to the pandemic. Consumer purchases this Black Friday weekend mirrored the trends seen throughout 2020. “We are delighted to have played a critical role during the pre-Christmas and Black Friday period, helping retailers meet surging demand for various products,” commented Ed Bradley, founder and director of Virtual Stock. “This year has seen e-Commerce growing stronger as the pandemic has thrust it into the limelight as the primary way in which many people now shop. November has been no different as we saw a huge rise in orders, despite many retailers investing less in marketing this year than previous ones. We expect dropship to be a crucial feature of e-Commerce into 2021 and beyond.”

D2C Following this, Barclays Corporate Banking has also reported a shift in consumer habits this year with a boom in manufacturers selling direct-to-consumer (D2C). This will provide a £24bn boost to the industry’s coffers by 2023. The new report, ‘A direct approach’, combines polling of manufacturers, logistics firms and consumers with detailed economic modelling to assess the impact of D2C sales, where traditional channels of distribution such as retailers and wholesalers are bypassed. The results show that a surge in shoppers going direct will mean sales through this channel total £120bn in 2023 – an

ACW 21 DECEMBER 2020

aircargoweek.com

increase from £96bn this year. Again, this growth is being driven by consume choices exacerbated by the pandemic. Almost 59% of the people surveyed said they now frequently go direct to manufacturers because they believe they will get a better price (36%) and better service (23%) .

Direct sales

Encouragingly for manufacturers, consumers’ newly-formed habits show no signs of abating even after the pandemic, with more than half of people surveyed said they will continue to shop online as much as they do now and 13% predicting they will turn to e-Commerce even more often. Shoppers expect 29% of their home deliveriesto come via D2C in 2023, rising from 20% in 2020. These trends have seen 13% of manufacturers set-up a D2C channel this year, each investing an average of £288,000 to do so, while 22% have been an increase in D2C sales. However, despite the growing prominence of direct sales, the vast majority (98%) of manufacturers also continue to work with wholesalers and retailers. “2020 has been a turbulent year for all industries, and the manufacturing sector is no different,” commented Lee Collinson, head of manufacturing, transport and logistics at Barclays Corporate Banking. “However, the increasing demand to procure goods direct from the companies that make them is providing growth opportunities and confidence for manufacturers of all sizes. D2C sales will help manufacturing firms increase their earnings and protect and create jobs in the next three years: that’s a welcome shot in the arm not only for the industry but also for the wider UK economy.”

NEW TECHNOLOGY

ARE FLYING! The future of freight VACCINES Special report DHL starts international COVID-19 vaccine distribution

FLYLOGIX and the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC) have announced the success of their UAV flight between Land’s End Airport in Cornwall and St Mary’s Airport on the Isles of Scilly, which was completed on December 10. The flight carried an NHS (National Health Service) supply box outbound and local produce on the return and was the first-ever freight drone flight between two UK commercial airports. “This is a very significant test flight because it paves the way for us to work with the community on Scilly towards a scheduled commercial drone service and breaks new ground in the UK for the integration of unmanned aircraft with manned commercial flights,” explained Charles Tavner, executive chairman of Flylogix. Flylogix and ISSC have entered into a two year partnership to develop with the local community what could be the UK’s first scheduled freight delivery service by drone, including plans to develop a larger, purpose-built UAV to meet islanders’ needs. The project is being supported by Cornwall Development Company’s AeroSpace Cornwall programme, who contributed £10,000 funding towards the test flight. The UAV used for the project has a wingspan of 3.48m, a range of 500 km, and has an unloaded weight of less than 40kg. With a single 17.5 BHP petrol-driven engine, it has a cruising speed of 70 knots (around 80mph) and a top speed of 90 knots (around 100mph). The 30-mile journey took around half an hour each way but the flight took the unmanned aircraft over some of the United Kingdom’s most rugged scenery and out over the Atlantic. “We’ve shown that a drone freight service is not only technically feasible but that there is demand for its potential to deliver time-sensitive and

high-value items for the island community, using aircraft that have 98% fewer emissions than a manned equivalent,” explained Stuart Reid, chief executive of the ISSC. There are plans to introduce a daily drone freight service between the mainland and Scilly next summer for a three-month trial period and work towards a full commercial operation using a bespoke freight UAV within two years. “When a group of islanders formed the Steamship Company all those years ago [in 1920] they scarcely could have imagined [this] amazing milestone,” Reid added. A regular freight service as such would open opportunities for businesses on the Isles.

Looking to the skies Andrew Walder who runs SC Dogs rum distillery on the island of St Martin’s commented that the drone trial has the potential to unlock true next day delivery for the business, whether that’s for spare parts, fresh yeast deliveries or shipping. “With a service that will potentially be less affected by weather issues than other means of transport, this link could greatly benefit our island community especially when it comes to water sample testing, medical deliveries and other vital supplies,” Reid commented. Flylogix is looking to the skies, and the future, as it is one of just a handful of companies chosen to work with the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s Innovation Team alongside the likes of Amazon and Boeing to help keep the UK’s aviation sector at the forefront of technology development. It is certain the next few years will yield great developments for UAVs in the airfreight sector.

he year 2020 has been unprecedented and DHL has been one of the first to start the international distribution of COVID-19 vaccine. For the provision of its citizens the government of Israel received the first batch of the vaccine with flights operated by DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding last week. The first DHL Express aircraft touched down at the Ben-Gurion International Airport Tel Avivand was received by Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu. DHL Global Forwarding, the international freight specialist arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group, also dedicated a charter flight for additional supplies of vaccine doses, which arrived at the Ben-Gurion airport on December 10, with more to follow. “After numerous months of preparation we are happy that our mission of vaccine distributionhas now started and we could contribute our logistics expertise and capabilities to make vaccine accessible worldwide,” says Travis Cobb, head of global network operations and aviation at DHL Express. “The current crisis has shown how indispensable international logistics networks are for ensuring that societies have the necessary personal protective equipment and test kits to secure their health. “Now we are embarking on the next step in our common fight against the coronavirus. Our teams across 220 countries and territories and our global network as the backbone of cross-border Express logistics is ready – to deliver anytime and anywhere.” Thomas Mack, head of global airfreight, DHL Global Forwarding said: “The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is a silver lining and DHL is proud to play an active role as the most global logistics provider in bringing this silver lining to people. “With our extensive logistics expertise in the

life sciences and healthcare sector paired with the commitment and passion of our people we want to play our part in making the Corona pandemic history. In addition to the first flights to Israel, DHL is preparing to carry out further flights in December and beyond with vaccines from its worldwide operating hubs. More than 9,000 specialists work across DHL’s dedicated global network so that pharmaceutical, medical devices, clinical trials and research organisations, wholesalers and distributors, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers are connected across the value chain and through digitalisation, from clinical trials to point of care, and every step in between. DHL’s portfolio for the healthcare industry includes 150+ pharmacists, 20+ clinical trials depots, 100+ certified stations, 160+ GDP-qualified warehouses, 15+ GMP-certified sites and 135+ medical express sites.

10 billion doses On a global scale logistics providers are challenged to establish medical supply chain rapidly to deliver vaccines of unprecedented amount of more than 10 billion doses worldwide – also in regions with less developed logistics infrastructures, where three billion people live. To provide global coverage of the next two years, up to 200k pallet shippers and 15m cooling boxes as well as 15,000 flights will be required across the various supply chain setups With vaccines historically developed over a timeline of 5~20 years, the accelerated process of COVID-19 within one year is unprecedented. As COVID-19 vaccines have leapfrogged development phases, stringent temperature requirements (up to -80°C) are likely to be imposed for certain vaccines.

LATAM offers free domestic transport of COVID-19 vaccines

LATAM Airlines Group, through its Solidarity Plane programme, it will make available to the authorities of the countries where it has domestic operations the free transportation of COVID-19 vaccines in their regular domestic flights, once available. “During this entire global health crisis, we have not spared efforts to collaborate with the communities of the countries where we serve through our Solidarity Plane program. We are excited to announce that LATAM’s domestic operations will be available to support the distribution totally for free, of vaccines according to what the authorities of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru may determine,” Roberto Alvo, LATAM Airlines Group CEO explained.

aircargoweek.com

ACW 21 DECEMBER 2020

The future of digitalisation

lena Volkova is chief product officer (CPO) of airfreight digitalisation solution provider CargoAi. She explains what this slightly unusual job title means. Elena says: “It stands for ‘Product’. Product is one of the most exciting areas of the business for me. It starts from understanding your customer and goes all the way through design, research, development and comes back to the customer. “At CargoAi we don’t think in weeks but in days, our innovative eQuote flow for example is improving and evolving, ‘standard’ and ‘basic’ is good but with the right twist – technology cannot just replace the pen and paper but empower decisions and bring more revenue. “We need the technology of the future today in order to get there.” Russia-born Elena says: “I’ve been working in software start-ups and enterprise companies for over 10 years. I’ve covered industries like manufacturing while working at Autodesk, retail at Applica, hospitality at FCS Computer Systems. My expertise is mainly in B2B but I’ve done dozens of projects and some of them were B2C like a project for the Singapore government for an athlete mobile and web application. “The entire team is made up of people who are passionate about meeting people and cross-cultural activity, which is something we all have in common. Most of us have worked in several countries on different continents and have developed in very varied cultural environments. This represents real added value both personally and also professionally as we have all learned a lot from this intellectual and technological mix. It’s also a great asset for understanding our customers’ expectations and a great plus when working in air freight. Personally, I’ve worked and lived in Russia, the US and Singapore and had the opportunity to work and manage various teams across the globe as well as travel there.” Elena is definitely from a ‘digital world’ but she loves and cares for every industry she’s been lucky to join. She says: “I see the prospect of many opportunities in the air cargo industry, as it is both a large business sector and a small world where everyone knows each other and one that has managed to retain a family spirit, which I appreciate. I love the passion with which people carry out their work and the flair with which they get things done. “This is also what attracted me to CargoAi: the world of possibilities and the passion.

People are at the centre and user satisfaction is a priority. Cargo is no longer an alien word for me and I consider myself part of the family.” CargoAi is based in Singapore. How vital is this to Elena? She considers: “I wouldn’t say it’s vital, but it’s definitely a great advantage. Singapore is rightly considered the land of high tech and digital development, a country paying close attention to the imperative of being agile and fast, which businesses need. I’ve been working in Singapore since 2016. For me, Singapore is a country of innovation and technology; it has everything software companies need to provide the best service for customers across the globe.”

Diversity in air cargo? Elena says: “So far, I can see that not many young people choose to join air cargo, but that’s where I think digitisation can help. Nowadays we depend on technology and new graduates will choose a digital over a manual job opportunity. “At CargoAi, our strength is also our diversity. We have complementary skills (airfreight, technology, product, customer success and sales) and we come from and are based in several continents. “Our HQ is in Singapore, but several people are also based in Europe, the USA or elsewhere in Asia. The question of gender doesn’t arise at Cargo Ai. There are as many men as women and it’s clear that gender is not a criterion for selection. “There is now a gap between those you call ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’, because not everyone is at the same level. There is still a lot of room for improvement for the whole industry to be aligned and to have smooth, reliable processes. “We are heading in this direction at CargoAi: we are making sure that the transition to digitisation for air cargo is as smooth as possible. “Every new generation entering the work market is an opportunity. The generations complement one another. Millennials, of which I am one, are an ultra-connected generation who are perfectly at ease with digital technology and for whom it is natural to work with state-of-the-art technology tools. “We live in the era of progress and innovation and Millennials are its ambassadors. This is therefore an opportunity for airfreight to have Millennials as part its lifeblood. They are the future and the leaders of tomorrow.”

aircargoweek.com

Tabloid page bled.indd 1

16/12/2020 14:17

Tabloid page trim.indd 1

18/11/2020 16:20